Surprises keep life interesting but they can be welcome or unwelcome.  This is why I sometimes prefer predictability to surprise, and so when aiming to know what to expect, I revisit my dustiest books.  Even when I know what happens next, though, I’m sometimes surprised by finding fam/… Read full post »

At first I thought something was wrong with the site; that is, that perhaps my information wasn’t visible or I had accidentally hit "hide profile". But no, my profile was not hidden. I decided to sit back and wait. After two weeks and one note from a guy who likes Nascar… Read full post »

This past week a series of events converged that illustrated an interesting point about young people in our culture. My son and I have been preparing for his leaving for college, a former student returned to college after dropping out eight years ago, and I literally bumped into two New York… Read full post »

     When I was a kid and would climb the stairs to my grandmother’s apartment, the smell of coffee would greet me before she could.  She wore high heels in the house and would stand in front of her full-length mirror and announce in broken English that she looked &ldqu… Read full post »

     When I was a young girl, my huge Italian family would gather at my grandmother’s house for holidays and Sunday dinners (Sunday dinners involved as much hoopla as holidays).  She insisted that we all sit at one table, which meant that her dining room had to be exten… Read full post »

      The other day a single relative mentioned having a non-negotiable  list of criteria in choosing a mate. Being divorced, I understood his caution, but cringed at his formulaic way of finding a partner. His hobby is dog breeding, and listening to his theo… Read full post »

 As promised, following is my original recipe for chocolate-chip cookies.  Any chocolate-chip cookie is a good cookie, but the Toll-House recipe produces cookies that flatten and get crisp, and for years I longed for a recipe that produced cookies that are moist and plump and chewy.&… Read full post »

        Combining dating with full-time single parenting is good training for a juggling act with a circus. The balls in the air have contradictory labels such as "me time," and "don’t neglect your responsibilities," but the heaviest ball that threatens the ai… Read full post »

     I am but one of a species. 

     SwingleMoms are the women who make dinner for our kids even though we’re going out to dinner with a date. We develop our own chocolate chip cookie recipes (and unlike non-SwingleMoms I'll share mine wi… Read full post »